Last month, the Broncos played a rough Thursday Night game vs. the Raiders but were able to squeeze out a 10-7 victory. It wasn’t the prettiest game, and it had the media buzzing about how they were frauds.
Well, they bounced back this afternoon and walked away with a 24-17 victory over the Raiders.
It was a 24-7 game late in the 4th quarter until the Raiders and backup quarterback Kenny Pickett scored a garbage-time touchdown to make it a 24-14 score. They would attempt an onside kick, but it failed to go 10 yards, and Broncos tight end Adam Trautman would fall on the ball. The Raiders would get the ball back and drive down and attempt a field goal with 5 seconds left, but time ran out, and the Broncos would walk away with a 24-17 victory.
This was a solid effort by the Broncos, who saw all three phases of the game come up big in this one and lead them to victory. With this victory, the Broncos move to 11-2 on the year, have won 10-straight games, and are now the number one seed in the AFC. Due to this, we have a ton of winners and very few, if any, losers from this game.
WINNER – QB Bo Nix
While he doesn’t have the flashiest of stat lines, it was a very efficient, confident, and productive showing by the Broncos quarterback. Nix would finish the game by going 31 for 38 for 212 yards, including 3 rushing attempts for 15 yards and 1 touchdown.
Nix was efficient all game, led the offense up and down the field, and controlled the time of possession throughout. After having a few games with happy feet and appearing to lack confidence, Nix has bounced back and played well these past three games.
He didn’t need another 4th quarter/OT comeback performance in this one, but Nix played well, and has led the Broncos to an 11-2 record, their 10th straight victory, and they are now the number one seed in the AFC.
WINNER – RB RJ Harvey/Broncos run game
After veteran JK Dobbins went down with a potential season-ending injury, rookie RJ Harvey and the Broncos’ run game have failed to get much going on the ground. It was a concerning weakness for an offense that will need to run the ball in the playoffs if they want to make a deep postseason run, but we saw some promising improvements from that unit today
The Broncos as a team rushed for 152 yards on the ground and were led by rookie RJ Harvey, who had 75 yards rushing and 100 total yards from scrimmage while also scoring a touchdown. This was a promising game by the Broncos’ rookie runne,r and hopefully, something we see more of moving forward.
Fullback Adam Prentice added 22 yards rushing, as did Jaleel McLaughlin. Tyler Badie had 16 yards, Bo Nix had 15 yards, and Marvin Mims had 2 yards rushing. This is the type of rushing performance we will need to see from the Broncos moving forward.
WINNER – KR Marvin Mims Jr.
While his role on offense has diminished, we saw why Mims is a 2x All-Pro and Pro Bowl kick returner. Mims would get his first career punt return touchdown in this game to give the Broncos a 14-7 lead and completely shift the momentum in the game.
Mims is a big-play threat whenever he has the ball in his hands, and while we have seen his offensive snaps dip a bit, he is still a dangerous returner. He had a big return vs. the Chiefs and now had another game-changing return vs. the Raiders.
Having a returner like this is a luxury, and hopefully, we see more big Marvin Mims returns in the coming weeks and throughout the playoffs.
WINNER – EDGE Nik Bonitto
While the defense played well today, the real standout player was edge rusher Nik Bonitto. He finished the game with 2 sacks of quarterback Geno Smith and now has 12.5 sacks on the year. He is living up to his contract extension and is once again, one of the better pass rushers in the entire NFL.
While the defense gave up 10 points in garbage time, the defense overall played well in this game. The Raiders drove down the field for a touchdown on their first series of the game, but would be held scoreless until in garbage time, when backup quarterback Kenny Pickett would throw a touchdown. After the Broncos failed to get a first down while milking the clock, the Raiders would kick a field goal as the clock hit 0:00 to make it a 24-17 game.
Not the way you want to finish a game, but they played well when it mattered throughout.
They added 4 more sacks to their league-leading total and held the Raiders to just 40 yards rushing and 189 yards passing (even though garbage time inflated those numbers). The Raiders were also 3 for 9 on third downs in this one, while also going 1 for 3 on 4th downs.
Not a memorable showing by the Broncos’ defense, but an overall solid effort that is muddied up a bit due to garbage time.
WINNER – FB Adam Prentice
Fullback Adam Prentice is an offensive weapon.
He is either opening up running lanes for the Broncos’ backs, pancaking pass rushers as a pass protector, catching passes out of the backfield, or rumbling for 18-yard gains on the ground.
Prentice is a dog and can do it all!
With veteran Michael Burton going down prior to the season opener with a season-ending injury and tight end/fullback Nate Adkins missing time due to a knee injury, Prentice has really stepped up this season. All jokes aside, he has been a valuable member of the Broncos’ offense this season.
You either see him laying the wood as a blocker in the run game, providing pass protection, taking the ball on short-yardage, catching passes out of the backfield, or exploding for 18-yard gains on the ground. Successful teams have under-the-radar players like this who step up and make key plays throughout the year, and the Broncos have themselves a good one here in Adam Prentice.
WINNER – One Seed Broncos
You love to see it and can read more about the Broncos retaking the one seed here.
Other Notable Winners and Losers
- WINNER – WR Pat Bryant: The Broncos’ rookie wide receiver continues to play well and is turning into the Broncos and Bo Nix’s second-most trusted target behind veteran Courtland Sutton. He does all the dirty work as a blocker, makes big catches, has reliable hands, and is showing some YAC ability.
- WINNER – WR Courtland Sutton: Sutton once again was the man Nix was looking for on key third downs and, for the most part, came up with the big catch and the first down for the Broncos offense. It wasn’t his biggest game, but he was productive and reliable once again.
- LOSER – TE Evan Engram: After a good showing vs. the Commanders, Engram was invisible again and finished the game with just 2 receptions for 8 yards. The Broncos still won and played well, but I hoped to see more from Engram in this one. Hopefully, we see more big games from him moving forward.
- WINNER – WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey: He had 3 catches for 27 yards but helped out most as a blocker. He is meant for this role and is thriving in it once again. Lil’Jordan does all the dirty work in the run game while being a productive receiver on play-action/bootleg passes.
- WINNER – Coverting 3rd downs: I do not recall the Broncos going three and out today, and they went 7 for 12 on 3rd downs which is what you want to see from the offense.
- WINNER – Time Of Possession: The Broncos dominated the clock and controlled the tempo throughout. They had control of the ball for 39:03 minutes while the Raiders had it for 20:57 minutes. We saw multiple long scoring drives by the Broncos offense, which led to this wide margin at the TOP.
- WINNER – Sweeping the Raiders: For the second straight season, the Denver Broncos have swept their season series vs. the Raiders.
